The present invention relates to a golf club, and more particularly, to a golf club head with its face or the club's shaft surface having an improved scratching resistance.
Some of the golf clubs now on the market have a head made of a fiber-reinforced plastic (hereinafter referred to as FRP), a plastic reinforced with a fiber such as carbon fiber, glass fiber or aromatic polyamide fiber. Such a golf club has a tendency that its face (ball hitting surface) is liable to be scratched with small stones, sand or the like when a ball is hit therewith from a rough or a bunker. Particularly, in the case of a bunker shot, the head gets countless scratches by only one shot which can cause fading of the face or even chipping thereof in some cases. The scratch not only deteriorates the appearance of the club head, but also brings about the danger that the surface layer of the head will separate, permitting water to permeate into the head through the damaged areas and lower the strength of the head itself.
Further, some of the golf clubs on the market have a shaft made of a FRP instead of a steel shaft. When such a golf club is put in a caddie bag and carried on a vehicle or the like, it is apt to move around violently in the bag causing the shaft of such a club to collide against an iron club head, so that the shaft is scratched significantly which will cause fading in some cases, which not only deteriorates the appearance of the club shaft, but also is a cause of the breakage thereof.
One proposed means for protecting the surface of a club head or shaft made of a FRP comprises spraying a ceramic thermal layer on the surface. Since, however, a ceramic thermal layer is so poor in its adhesiveness to such a club head or shaft that it is liable to peel off, this means is insufficient as a protective surface.